Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

Murray slammed on the gas and took off, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.

Leda was fuming on the sidewalk, cursing at the top of her lungs. "What kind of jerk does that? A total scumbag! Absolute trash! He's driving me insane!"

Grabbing the young guy by the collar, who was as innocent as a puppy caught in the rain, she vented, "Listen here. Anne is never going back to him! Never!" Trying to play peacemaker, the young guy nodded frantically, "Yeah, yeah, don't get worked up."

But was that even possible? The confidence Murray exuded seemed unshakable.

Stealing a glance at Leda, the young guy wished Leda could trust men as unconditionally as her friend did. Stop right there! He wouldn't dare even dream of it.

...

Meanwhile, Murray answered a call in his car, his tone icy because of his bad mood. "What's up?"

"Hey, babe, I found this amazing place that serves the juiciest crab. Tomorrow's Saturday. Let's go check it out, shall we?" Millie's bubbly voice came through the phone. She knew Murray's love for seafood and was playing to his tastes.

They hadn't been in touch since the previous night, and her anxiety was getting the better of her, pushing her to make the call without a second thought.

Usually, Murray would plan their dates, and all she had to do was playfully refuse before shyly agreeing.

But things had changed recently. Murray's attempts to reach out had dwindled, his texts brief, sometimes left unanswered.

Busy, he would say, like at that moment. "Saturday? I'm tied up. No can do."

"If you're busy on Saturday, Sunday works, too..." Millie's grip on her phone tightened, her lips turning pale.

"I said I'm busy. Let's leave it at that." With that, Murray hung up.

Millie stared at her phone's blank screen, feeling her panic surge again. She thought, 'No, I can't give up yet, not when I've finally become Murray's girlfriend.'

...

As the sun dipped low, Owen and Roseanne bid farewell to Madeleine.

"Time flies, doesn't it?" Madeleine said, a hint of sadness in her voice. "Why don't you stay for dinner before you go?"

Owen shook his head. "Can't, I need to swing by the lab."

Roseanne echoed his sentiment. "We'll have plenty of other opportunities."

"Fine, take care, and don't be strangers," Madeleine replied, her words directed at Roseanne.

Nodding eagerly, Roseanne responded, "Definitely!"

Madeleine reminded her, "By the way, there are some papers and three books on the table for you, stuff you left behind from before."

Roseanne's major was in bioinformatics, with a focus on algorithms. She had been halfway through a paper intended for SCI submission before graduation, and her professors had kept everything for her. Touched, Roseanne faltered, "Ms. Payne, I..."

"Off you go now. Oh, and don't forget your lunchbox on the table. I've cleaned it for you."

Roseanne was surprised.

Madeleine playfully chided, "You got all the way to the hospital door and didn't even come in to see me. You left that lunchbox, and I almost ate too much." Blushing, Roseanne promised, "Won't happen again."

On the way back, knowing Owen had things to do, Roseanne didn't dare to ask for a direct drop-off, so she suggested getting off at Kingswell University's entrance.

"It's a short walk. Could do with the stroll," Roseanne said.

Owen agreed, "Sounds good."

...

When Murray spotted the figure sitting at the villa's front door, his heart leaped. But upon recognizing the woman's face, his excitement quickly deflated.

"Millie."